Chapter 47 Chapter 47 "You approached me on purpose?"
Not surprisingly, Xue Yuanyin was ordered by Xue Chang to stay in the house and reflect on his behavior.
It was obvious that her disobedience had infuriated Xue Chang, who had ignored her for four or five days. However, Xue Yuanyin didn't care and stayed in her boudoir, eating, drinking, playing, and sleeping. She even unexpectedly welcomed a distinguished guest.
Princess Ning Yan came to visit her.
Xue Yuanyin watched Princess Ning Yan sit down and drink tea with familiarity, feeling a little confused. She asked, "Did my father let you in?"
No, there's another question: when did she become so familiar with Princess Ning Yan?
Princess Ning Yan probably regarded her as a friend and spoke without reservation. She said:
"He's just a minister. How can I, a princess, stop him?"
Xue Yuanyin: “…”
That's true. Princess Ning Yan's status is just as high as that of His Royal Highness Prince Yu, and they are both heirs to the throne.
It was all because Princess Ning Yan was so out of touch with reality. She was so impressed by the incident of her climbing over the wall of the Imperial College and making a grand confession that she always overlooked the fact that Princess Ning Yan was from a royal family and was the emperor's most beloved daughter.
Xue Yuanyin didn't know why she came: "Then you today..."
Princess Ning Yan blinked, looked around to see if there was anyone in the room, and whispered:
"I'll tell you a secret. In the past six months, I've fallen in love with a man, a handsome and holy monk from Nantang Temple."
Xue Yuanyin, sipping tea, nearly spit out a mouthful of water upon hearing this. Princess Ning Yan truly is someone who makes a splash when she does!
She put down her tea and said with difficulty, "What are you talking about? Wake up! How can a monk become a prince consort?!"
Furthermore, does His Majesty know Princess Ning Yan's thoughts? Will he agree?
Princess Ning Yan didn't take it seriously at all and said, "I'm very clear-headed. If he leaves secular life, won't he be able to become a consort?"
Xue Yuanyin was speechless and said, "Then you came to me to..."
Princess Ning Yan's delicate face flushed bright red as she said, "Tell me, how can I pursue him? Can I just go and confess my love to him?"
Xue Yuanyin coughed again. She knew that Princess Ning Yan didn't like Zhang Jingxuan, she just liked the abstinence type. She breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly:
"Princess, please listen to me. You absolutely cannot confess your feelings directly! Even if he likes you, don't confess! Falling for a monk is a taboo. You must remain silent and let him confess his feelings for you first."
Princess Ning Yan uttered an "ah" sound, and pursed her bright red lips slightly, looking unhappy.
"But I don't know how! How can I seduce him? Or do you mean... to have an affair?"
Xue Yuanyin had a headache: "No, I didn't say that."
"Forget it! I just came to let you know! When I catch her, I will definitely come to share it with you!"
Princess Ning Yan came and left quickly. I don’t know if she took her advice to heart. She patted her sleeves and walked away in a swagger.
Xue Yuanyin was worried for her. All the depression she had felt during this period of time when she was locked up in the house by Xue Chang disappeared. Her mind was full of thoughts of finding an opportunity to go to Nantang Temple to see who the handsome monk was.
After all, he was a big customer with 500 taels of silver, and she didn't want Her Royal Highness the Princess to fall into the trap.
Thanks to Princess Ning Yan's visit, Xue Chang probably realized that his daughter's connections should not be underestimated. In addition, she had work to do, so he released her the next day.
Xue Yuanyin was too lazy to be angry with Xue Chang. She wanted to find the famous painting for Prince Yu. She had already inquired about it two days ago. It was called "Guan Lu Tu" and was said to be in the hands of a wealthy businessman in the capital.
Her job was to find out who the rich businessman was and buy the painting back.
When the spy from Xue's mansion came back and presented the news to Xue Yuanyin, she looked at the location written on the paper and fell silent.
Rich businessmen especially loved places with beautiful scenery. They lived in the southern suburbs of Beijing and often visited Nantang Temple.
It’s Nantang Temple again. It’s really a lively place with many outstanding people and beautiful scenery.
Xue Yuanyin asked Uncle Wei to prepare a small gift and go out in a carriage. If they wanted to look for someone, they would naturally have to visit the abbot of the temple.
After she left, Xue Chang in the front yard received the news from Uncle Wei, nodded slightly, and said calmly:
"Go and deliver the letter to Master Liu. As for how to phrase it, you should know what to say."
Uncle Wei lowered his head and replied, "Yes."
-
Xue Yuanyin arrived at the outskirts of the capital and noticed two carriages parked nearby, one with a sandalwood wall and the other with an ordinary wooden wall.
Because she was preoccupied with important matters, she glanced at it casually and put it out of her mind without taking it to heart.
She walked into Nantang Temple and followed the monk's instructions to find the abbot. When she arrived at the entrance of the meditation hall, the monk suddenly remembered something and slapped his head and said:
"Lady donor, I forgot to mention that the abbot is currently..."
Xue Yuanyin was very nimble and had knocked on the door before the monk finished speaking. He was about to withdraw his hand when he heard that, but the door to the meditation hall was not closed. The force of his knock pushed the door open a crack.
There was an unexpected figure sitting in the Zen hall. Zhang Jingxuan and the abbot were facing each other, with gentle expressions and smiles on their lips. They were obviously discussing something.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, they both looked over, and Zhang Jingxuan's eyes fell on Xue Yuanyin.
Zhang Jingxuan paused, interrupted the conversation, and said to the abbot in a gentle voice:
"Thank you for clearing up my confusion, Abbot. Since you have a guest, I won't stay any longer."
"It's my job, so why be polite?"
The abbot smiled and watched him leave.
Xue Yuanyin watched Zhang Jingxuan walk out of the meditation hall, and suddenly remembered that her father had asked her to marry a poor boy. Her mood suddenly turned bad, and she felt a little overwhelmed.
She made way for him, and for no reason averted her eyes as he passed.
It’s better to pretend you’re not familiar with it.
She and he were only in a physical relationship, so she shouldn't have any other extravagant expectations.
Zhang Jingxuan stopped and looked up at her, and saw that she was deliberately looking elsewhere.
He lowered his eyes slightly and looked at her face. It was afternoon now, and the warm sun of early winter cast a layer of fine light on the girl's cheeks, making her look more obedient, lonely and decadent.
Zhang Jingxuan frowned slightly.
The weather is already very cold now, but she is wearing a little thin clothes.
Seeing her eyelashes tremble, he whispered:
"You didn't even say hello to me?"
Xue Yuanyin turned her face away, feeling as if he was being stubborn and trying to pretend not to know him.
Zhang Jingxuan's eyes darkened slightly. He walked towards her and stood at the corner under the eaves.
There was silence all around him. He slowly grasped her waist, and when he noticed her slight tremor, he paused, lowered his eyes, stood in front of her, and grasped her waist.
Xue Yuanyin was in a bad mood. He held her tightly, but she remained unmoved.
Zhang Jingxuan looked at her, and for a moment, his fingertips slightly penetrated into the hem of her clothes.
It's cool, delicate, and makes your heart beat faster.
Xue Yuanyin felt his slightly cool fingertips caressing her waist. After a moment, he stretched out his fingertips and slowly moved them down to cover her thighs. It was hard to tell whether he was teasing her or doing something else.
She was tickled by him, and pushed him away with red cheeks, frowning and saying in a low voice:
"This is a sacred Buddhist temple. What are you doing?"
Zhang Jingxuan obediently withdrew his hand and said calmly:
"Finally, you don't have to look at me with that face that looks like it's burning down your ancestors' graves?"
Xue Yuanyin felt a surge of anger in her heart, but she suppressed it with all her might. Her lips moved, but she only said, "I have something important to do. I won't chat with you anymore. I'll go in first."
The tone of his voice was normal, nothing unusual, as if he was really in a hurry to get the job done.
After saying this, she turned and entered the Zen hall.
The door closed, blocking out the figures inside the room.
Zhang Jingxuan frowned almost imperceptibly.
After getting on the carriage, the driver drove the carriage and gradually left Nantang Temple behind.
The wheels rolled over the bluestone road, crushing the withered yellow leaves on the mountain path. He looked indifferently at the forest scenery receding outside the carriage, and then thought of what had just happened, and turned around to glance at Nantang Temple.
However, he did not see her coming out. He only saw another man in white clothes, with a clear profile and a thin back, slowly walking into the red wall of Nantang Temple.
Zhang Jingxuan withdrew his gaze, rested his head on the wall of the carriage, closed his eyes and rested.
On the quiet mountain forest road, the only sound is the sound of wheels.
Perhaps it was because the figure just now was too young, as if he had met him in the Imperial College, or perhaps it was just some subtle intuition.
He suddenly opened his eyes and said coldly, "Stop and go back the way you came."
-
After Xue Yuanyin finished talking with the abbot, he bowed to express his gratitude and left the meditation hall.
This matter was more difficult than she had imagined, so she put it behind her and didn't think about it anymore.
Thinking that the handsome monk that Princess Ning Yan had taken a fancy to was also in Nantang Temple, she turned around and planned to go to the main hall where there were the most monks to burn incense before leaving.
The most important thing is to get rid of the bad luck for herself. She always feels that she has been having a bad time recently.
Xue Yuanyin walked up the stairs, his eyes falling on the few scattered people in front of him. There were two groups of pilgrims who came together, and a few monks with ordinary looks... Hey, there seemed to be a handsome man with a straight profile and a thin body. He looked pretty in a sickly way, as if he was about to ascend to heaven.
No, although he was wearing plain clothes, he was not wearing a cassock, so he was not a holy monk in the temple.
There was a huge incense burner in the center of the main hall. Xue Yuanyin walked in. There were only three incense sticks left in the incense tube. She took them out but couldn't light them.
She looked at it in confusion. Why did the incense stick look wet? Didn't the monks at Nantang Temple check it? Such a big mistake...
At this moment, a bony hand reached out from the side, with the blue veins on the wrist clearly visible. The person held three incense sticks and handed them over. The low voice that rang in my ears was gentle and sickly:
"If you can't light it, you might as well change to three."
Xue Yuanyin quickly took it and said thank you. Then she remembered to look up. It would have been fine if she hadn't looked, but when she did, she almost froze in the hall.
What a beautiful sick beauty!
The man before him had almond-shaped eyes, pale skin, and pale pink lips, a sort of sickly beauty. He was dressed in a plain white robe, without any accessories, and looked quite otherworldly.
But his expression was not as cold as his appearance. He even smiled at her with his eyes curved, like ice and snow just beginning to melt. He said softly:
"You're welcome."
After burning incense, Xue Yuanyin walked out of the hall and saw the man waiting outside. She walked past hesitantly and saw him turn around and look at her.
She asked hesitantly, "Are you waiting for me?"
Although he helped, they were not familiar with each other.
Liu Minyan sighed softly and said, "But I know you, Miss Xue. I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Liu Minyan. Your father told me that you came to Nantang Temple."
The doubt in Xue Yuanyin's eyes slowly faded, and a little bit of indifference appeared. Even the goodwill she had felt from his help just now completely disappeared. If she still couldn't understand Xue Chang's meaning, then she and he had been father and daughter for so many years in vain.
The corners of her lips slowly straightened and she said, "Did you approach me on purpose?"
Liu Minyan smiled gently upon hearing this, and said frankly with a hint of helplessness:
"I thought I was getting to know you in a very frank way."
Xue Yuanyin was speechless. He was indeed right, and he didn't even hide his name, but she just felt resentment and anger.
She really hated the fact that her fate was in the hands of others. She couldn't disobey or resist, and it felt like she was suffocating in shackles.
Xue Yuanyin pursed her lips and said nothing, clearly showing resistance.
How could Liu Minyan not see it, but he didn't care. He continued to smile, but his pale and beautiful face was a little more gloomy. He said:
"Just think of it as me trying to win Miss Xue's sympathy and inviting you to go out together, okay? When we reach the gate of Nantang Temple, we will separate and I will take my carriage back."
Xue Yuanyin neither agreed nor refused. She turned around and walked out. Liu Minyan followed her slowly.
He did not bother to talk to her, but followed her at a distance, not too close, until they reached the temple gate. Then he said in a gentle voice:
"It's cold in winter, Miss Xue, don't wear so little next time."
Xue Yuanyin couldn't help but sarcastically said, "Mr. Liu, just take care of yourself."
She twisted her slightly cold fingers and said stubbornly, "I'm not afraid of the cold, so I don't need anyone to worry about me."
After saying this, she got on the carriage, left him behind, and left alone.
Liu Minyan looked at the departing carriage, his gentle eyes revealing a hint of indifference, and he got into the carriage and left.
After the two carriages drove away from Nantang Temple one after the other, Zhang Jingxuan sat against the wall of the carriage on a distant mountain path, raised his eyes and looked in the direction they left, with a moment of darkness in his eyes.
After a while, he withdrew his gaze and tapped the table with his knuckles, with no expression on his face.
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